My Thoughts Wandered
by Vera Stone
Summary: So, after Teach Me Tonight, Jess of course leaves. After Loreali dies, Rory has to move to New York to live with Chris. Who else is living in New York?
1. Chapter 1

Takes Place after Jess crashes Rory's car in Teach Me Tonight. Any opinion, share it.

"My boyfriend Jess is so great, he used to be so bad off, but he really cleaned up his act to be with me. You can't imagine how much I love and respect him for it." A perky cheerleader told me as she led me through the halls of Washington Square High School in New York. If you had told me I'd be here last year, last month, last week, I would have laughed.

My so called father had the courtesy of telling me one day after my seventeenth birthday, and three days after my mother's funeral, that I wouldn't be living with Luke or my grandparents, but instead moving in with him and his current girlfriend, in New York.

The panic attack I had was out of this world, it was an emotional upheaval and a half, but what other options did I have? As I prepared my bags I said goodbye to everyone and everything I loved, Luke, the man who really raised friends, my town, and my friends. The last placed I saw was our place. The bridge. Jess and I had spent time here and I treasured it. Even that last night, I remember perfectly.

He had ruined everything, the car, and my relationship with Dean, my mother's trust it was all gone. I had nothing to loose, but one thing. I even gave him that, we slept together that night. In the morning he woke me up gently and said the words that still rung through my head. "I'm not good enough Rory, but when I am, I'll come back. I screwed up, I need to fix it." With that he left town, to god knows where.

I stayed strong but quite. Going to school, being with my mom, and such. I wasn't really there though…and things only went down hill. My mom, my world, crashed along with a 1999 Jeep. Goodbye mother, she was killed instantly.

So there I was, a little different starting school. I had died my hair a white blonde, which with my porcelain skin and blue eyes made me seem like a ghost, and the dramatic weight lost, helped. I couldn't look at food, it reminded me of my mother. My father's money bought me designer clothes, I had completely changed. Well my looks did, the minute that dumb cheerleader said that one name, I thought of my Jess.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews! They really gave me some great ideas, and I promise I will expand on the Chris/Rory/Sherry relationship in this chapter. And later, somewhere we will have Rory soaked, at a grave! Keep involved please.

I started to feel warm and calm when I thought of him, but no I didn't deserve that. My mother was dead, I was nowhere near home, and this was it. I decided to just put the best face on and get the hell away from this poor excuse for a human near me.

"That's a really sweet offer, but my uhm, step mom? She wants me home straight after school, bonding you know?" I said trying to make it sound plausible, Sherry wasn't technically my step mom, but the bonding thing was no lie. I'd almost be trading one peppy cheerleader for another.

"Well if you guys finish early call me, ks?" She said handing me her number and dancing off, probably to have wild kinky sex with her bad boy Jess. The thought made me giggle. And I wandered off towards home.

When I slid in the door, the home cheerleader was there with an excited face. "I made reservations at the spa, I thought we could use some girl time, then maybe some shopping?" She asked me almost proud of herself.

I just nodded at her. "Just let me change quick, then we can go." Mostly I listened to her babble about life, but anything was better then staying in this house. Christopher completely cold-shouldered me. It was like it hurt him to speak even look at me. I know he missed my mom, but it still pissed me off. He ordered me here, most likely on Sherry's request though. She needed a playmate. I knew by the way she took me everywhere, blowing massive amounts of money on me and didn't even blink. It wasn't the money, it was the happiness she got out of sharing, and she told me at least. She had one thing going for her though; she never once tried to talk about my mom with me. No understanding, no questions, no pity. It was taboo and I wanted it that way. Luke had suggested I go to a therapist. Which shocked me, him of all people saying that, it must have freaked him out just at the thought. He cared, and it still brought me to tears. I called him almost every night. It was mostly him catching me up on what was happening in town. Patty, Kirk, Taylor, all the old players. At the end of the conversation I always told him I loved him, and miraculously he grunted back the same.

My relationships with everyone else had changed. I blew off Layne, her perky teenage life just made me jealous. Dean had called once, but it was all so awkward, just talking to him made me think of Jess. Being with Jess, around him and well under him. Of course the Gilmore's called frequently. Sherry invited them for Christmas, and they must have really missed me, because Emily accepted with excitement. Even though she despised Sherry. They also sent me gifts regularly. Expensive things I had no use for mostly, unless Grandpa got his say, then there were books, all sorts of them, each as interesting as the next. I absorbed them, sometimes they were my life line.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I try to incorporate as many ideas as I can into the story. Keep reading!

Jess Mariano looked miserably at a small piece of cake on his desk; it had a little candle on it and a smiley face. He grimaced at it every time he took a bite of his lunch. He wasn't really a sugar guy; he always leaned towards salt, pizza, and chips, Chinese. She didn't know that though. His perky little girlfriend tried but it wasn't always what he wanted. She didn't like all the time he spent "with his nose in a book" either. It all just pissed him off, life wasn't what he wanted. Next week she might have him trying out for the track team, and he wasn't going to let this happen anymore. He couldn't have Rory right now and obviously no one was going to fill her place. He firmly stood up and flipped his tray in the trash, happy fucking birthday Jessie, as his mother would say.

After his moment of balls decision, he went to find his girlfriend, he almost considered asking some one, but that ruined his aloof Hemmingway thing. When he finally found her, she was pointing at something with another unrecognizable blonde. She looked happy as always, all eyes on her, and she was satisfied. Jess almost continued his mental rant until he got a better look at the other girl. She looked so familiar, but it wasn't right. She was delicate, angel like. Blonde, pale, and thin as a board, he wondered if she'd pass out there, she looked exhausted. When he caught her eyes he noticed something, the blue. It looked so much like Rory's, they weren't corny waterfalls or anything, and they were strong, deep, and pensive. God they were almost a carbon copy of her eyes, he had to talk to this girl, he didn't know why, but it was the only thought he could conjure.

"Hey." He said entering their little bubble, not daring to touch his girlfriend, he wanted to leave things open.

"Sweetie!" She said going over to kiss him, he did the cheek turn, but she didn't worry, she always bitched her got moody some days.

"Who's the new friend?" Jess asked as casual as possible, he wanted to sound like Morrison, but probably came across as an eager groupie.

"Oh the new girl, Elle." He was told, without interest. She was worried now; he never carried for his surroundings, never mind the people in them.

Jess and Elle locked eyes, and he couldn't help it, his bad boy attitude, his aloofness, and his amount of oxygen split. "Welcome, if you need any help navigating, I'm around." He stuttered, stupid ass! He thought to himself, could he be any gayer.

"Thanks." She said quietly looking into his eyes, he raised his head and looked back. More drawn into anything than he had been in the last 6 months, he wandered if she wouldn't mind staying like this forever, because he knew it'd be good with him.

"Come on Jessie, let's go have lunch alone." She said taking his arm. This usually meant she'd want to neck him, and tease him, then shut him down with a pout.

"What about Elle?" He asked bluntly, he found this girl; no way he was loosing her.

"She needs to make new friends." She was getting bitchy now, he knew it.

"Well I guess I volunteer." He said offering Elle his hand, she hesitated and took it. Wondering how many problems she was currently causing. If she had any energy, she might have cared.

Jess nodded and started to lead Elle towards the cafetaria.

"Hungry?" He asked, happier than he had been in a long while.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for more reviews; I'm trying to work on developing Jess' character more, so hope he improves for you! Keep reviewing.

A few things happened to Rory all at once when Jess led her to the cafeteria. First of all her lungs collapsed, no longer allowing oxygen, then her stomach dropped, and finally her brain, fed up with everything, seemed to disappear. She didn't think he recognized her, knowing Jess he would have immediately mentioned it, bluntness became him.

Jess looked different than Rory remember him, his hair was a bit shorter, less gel. It had a floppy thing going, He seemed less rested, more troubled, if that was possible. His attitude was the biggest thing, he was so welcoming and entrancing with her, never had she seen him treat a stranger like that. She wasn't sure if it was confidence or he knew. Either way she was starting to add nerves to her flood of emotions.

"So do you want something to eat, or are you into spectator sports?" Jess asked her with a hint of charm.

The second her said this, Rory realized she was starving, just like that. It had been months sense she could even look at food without throwing up, never mind wanting to eat it. Either way she was going to go with it, she didn't want to look anorexic or anything. The last she needed was Jess thinking she was a mess.

"I'm not into sports." She said smiling and grabbing a tray from in front of him. He grinned back at her.

"Noted, anything else I need to know?" He asked her, wondering if it was true, she was so familiar.

"Oh about a million things." She stated kidding but at the same time wondering if it was true.

"Well I guess I better start asking now then, where are you from?" It was a simple casual question that confused Rory, how could she answer this without answering too much?

"Northeast." She was trying to give him as little information as possible.

"Descriptive, why'd you guys move?" Jess said searching for something to clue him in.

"I came to live with my dad, my mother passed away." Rory muttered the last part, saying things made them real.

"I'm sorry for your loss, is your dad alright?" Jess was honestly concerned, the girl-looked heart broken.

"Him and I aren't close, his girlfriend's nice though. I'm just trying to get threw the next year and a half, then we'll be long gone." Rory hadn't been this honest with anyone in ages. She started to hope that'd he be with her in that year and a half, a wet dream she knew, but a dream all the same.

"That's my basic plan, I'm out of here then. My mom's as good as dead, and I need to find better things, better than New York at least." Jess couldn't fathom why he just told a total stranger something so honest and serious.

"Seems like we're both counting down the days together." Rory said kindly.

"Looks about like it." Jess said smiling like a little kid, he was so happy, and he didn't know why. She seemed to make everything better.


End file.
